Magnus Bane

Simon Lewis is staring at me, perplexed, his just-fucked hair sticking up in all directions. Isabelle is standing next to him, in nothing but a bathrobe, arms crossed.

"You want me to come with you to a district that was destroyed by atomic bombs and kiss my dead best friend so that she'll wake up," he deadpans.

"Are you high, Magnus?" Isabelle asks skeptically.

"Seriously?" She nods. "I haven't touched a grain of that shit since Alec and I got together, and I don't want to. Now will you please take me seriously?"

Alec's sister groans. "I can't believe you dragged us out of bed to tell us that Clary is a modern Sleeping Beauty and Simon is the only person who can wake her up. Could you at least, like give us some background on this situation before you cart us off to one of the Destroyed Districts?"

I sigh. "First of all, Isabelle, you aren't going anywhere. Alec's broken up enough about Jace; if something happened to you-"

"You saw him!?"

"Yes, I -"

"How could you not tell me that you saw my missing brother? Well? Is he okay? Where is he? What happened to him?"

"I was going to tell you after I finished explaining about Clary. He's not hurt, physically, but they're keeping him in isolation. He's in a medical building in the Capitol. And... I don't know what happened."

Of course, there's another reason I didn't want to bring up Alec-

"Are you two... okay?"

And there it is. The question I was dreading, because I honestly don't know the answer. I just shake my head.

He didn't say he loved me. I hate it, but that fact has been eating away at me from the moment I left his room. Cell, more like. What if he doesn't care about me anymore?

One side of me says that's ridiculous. There was passion when we kissed. I'm sure of it. But was the passion for me? Or was it just... sexual frustration?

I guess it's partly my fault. I should have gone to say goodbye to him the day of the reaping. But it was too much.

The thing is, I always knew that Alec would die before me. But not so soon. Not like that.

I was in a fury after the reaping. I stormed back to my apartment and called Sebastian.

"You promised," I had yelled at him. "You said he was safe!"

"And so he will be," Sebastian had said, in a smooth voice that would have made me want to rip his throat out if I had been there. "Just cooperate with us, Bane. If you do, your boyfriend will never enter the arena. However, if you decide to go against us... there will be consequences."

After Alec disappeared... I went half mad looking for him. No one could tell me where he was. When I put the spell on Clary the day she went up into the arena, Sebastian wouldn't tell me a thing.

Those were the worst three months of my life. I was lonely, and I purposely isolated myself from Alec's family. I didn't want to put them in danger.

Now I think I should have acted differently. Maybe if I had been there, I could have helped Jace. Saved him. Is it my fault that my boyfr- that Alec's parabatai is dead.

I saw something snap in him. When I told him about Jace - that it had been suicide. It was like... like he stopped hoping.

"Why couldn't you have waited a few hours?" Isabelle grumbles. "It's not like the Sleeping Beauty spell expires or anything. Why the hell did you have to tell us right now?"

That's the other thing. The reason I left Alec so quickly - without explaining myself - wasn't just because I realized Simon could wake up Clary.

It was because I felt Elara in my mind. I could sense how close by she was, and I could feel how far into my mind she wanted to be. And behind that, I heard a threat.

But it wasn't me she was threatening. You need to leave, Mr. Bane. Go back to your little district and tell my delegates how to wake up the redhead. Don't tell anyone what you saw here, or your boy toy will pay.

The worst part is, I hesitated in the hallway. It went on for a while longer. There were at least ten more doors. And my insane curiosity almost overpowered my love for Alec.

If I had kept investigating, and something had happened to him, I never could have lived with myself.

It's already bad enough that he's being kept in that psyche ward. Leaving him there all alone broke my heart. But as I keep reminding myself, as long as I behave he's safe there.

I have to stay loyal. Not because I believe in the cause I'm fighting for. Frankly, I don't know if there is a cause. But it doesn't matter, because I'm not fighting for them. I'm fighting for Alec.

Simon Lewis

"I'm really starting to wonder what my brother sees in that guy," Izzy mumbles to me as we head back into our bedroom.

I shrug. "Beats me."

I'm on strict orders from Magnus. Pack one small bag with all my essentials, and no weapons. Izzy is doing most of the packing.

When I've got everything, she presses something into my hand. I feel the sharp edge of a knife. "I'll be damned if I'm letting you go visit that crazy ass murderer without a weapon. I don't care what Magnus says."

By 'Crazy Ass Murderer', she means Sebastian. He hasn't been found guilty, but the Lightwoods consider him responsible for the death of their younger brother Max a few years ago.

I turn back in the doorway to hug her.

"Promise you'll be careful," she murmurs, her dark eyes filled with worry.

I kiss her on the forehead. "Of course. Hey, it's just a few days. I'll be back before you know it." I frown. "You should be careful too, you know."

"Relax, Simon. I can take care of myself."

Our lips meet, and I can feel her pushing all her anxiety into the kiss. I do the same.

I smile sadly at her, and brush away the single tear that has fallen onto her cheek. "I love you," I whisper.

"I know. I love you too."

And then, with a final kiss, I close the door, leaving behind the closest thing I have to a home, wondering what's beyond the next horizon.

I think y'all can tell that I've basically given up on editing at this point. MAAAN the Riverdale season 2 finale has me SHOOK.  Thanks for reading! Please comment and vote!